North Koreans Fail to Measure Up

This report says the North Korean populace is suffering from "chronic growth retardation." This means that while improving nutrition has allowed the South Korean population to grow taller, an NK male is an average of 2.3 inches shorter than his ROK contemporary, according to research by anthropologist Sunyoung Pak.

Her studies, to be published in the international journal, Economics and Human Biology, this month, suggest that North Koreans must have suffered severe malnutrition problems virtually since Korea split into two states in 1948.

Her research shows that the only ages at which the average North Korean in her sample and the average South Korean share about the same height is from 50 to 69 years. Since height is determined during the early teenage years, this suggests that North Korea began to suffer food shortages at least by the 1960s.

'According to the economic statistics distributed by the North Koreans, the country experienced economic development up to the 1970s. But according to my data this is simply not true,' said Pak.

Once again the citizens of the DPRK get the short end of things.